Monday, July 29, 2013

Madilyn Karlee's Birth

WARNING: This post is really long. I took the time while I was alone in the hospital to write out the details of Madilyn's birth like I did for Mila. So this is the nitty gritty of her delivery. Feel free to just scroll down to the pictures at the end :)

When they say every labor is different they aren’t
kidding.We were set to induce
once again at 39 weeks to ensure I didn’t birth our baby in the car and to
ensure that Chase would be present for the delivery since he was tasked to
attend a training course for two weeks starting on the 16th of
July.We were instructed to call
the hospital at 5AM to see if there was space available.Wouldn’t you know it, after waking up
at 4:15AM to get ready, the hospital was completely full and instructed us to
wait for a call when a bed was available.They wouldn’t end up calling until 10:45AM.

We arrived just before noon, and I was immediately
administered penicillin to treat me for strep B.The nurse on duty at this time was named Mary—a fun,
sociable nurse with a Carolina accent.We loved her.She had a
rough time placing my IV so I ended up being poked 3 times.The doctors came to introduce
themselves and check me, and after a week of consistent Braxton Hicks I was
still only dilated to a 2.For the
next 4 hours we just killed time waiting for the penicillin to work into my
system.Due to the quick delivery
of Mila the doctors did not want to risk starting me on pitocin and having me
deliver before the penicillin had been in my system for 4 hours.Little did they know, that wouldn’t be
a problem.

At 4:30PM we started pitocin, but had to stop after an hour
or so due to the frequency of my contractions.The staff wanted to be safe and not risk my uterus
bursting.Luckily, my contractions
continued on their own without the pitocin.At 6:45PM the doctors checked me and attempted to break my
water, but due to my posterior cervix they couldn’t break the water.It’s at this time they decided to place
a Foley balloon to help mechanically dilate me some more.Luckily, the nurse, Liz (the night
shift nurse whom we also loved) allowed me to be on intermittent monitoring so
I could walk around the room and sit on a medicine ball as I worked through
each contraction.I passed the
balloon just after 9PM and by this time was dilated to a 4.The doctors decided to start pitocin
again, and so I requested an epidural to help relax me.The epidural was placed by 10PM.This is where things got exciting/fast.The doctors came in at 11:20PM to break
my water, which was easy to do now that my cervix had moved a bit.The doctors believed it would be 2-3
hours before I would be complete.I
was at a 5 when they broke my water and it would take just 45 minutes before I
was complete!Yep, I went from a
5-10 in 45 minutes.During this
time I got the shakes quite a bit and kept communicating to Liz so she would
check me.I really appreciated
that Liz was considering how my last delivery went and stayed in the room most
of those 45 minutes in order to prep things and check me regularly.

At 12:15AM the two doctors, Dr Noss and
Shaha (a new resident), as well as Liz and two midwives, Kelly and Major
Peterson, were in place ready for me to push.Chase was holding my left leg and Liz was on my right.I definitely felt the urge to push and
the pressure of it all.I have no
idea how so many brave women push without any anesthetic, cause man even with
the epidural it hurt!I also have
no idea how I did not feel Mila coming out of me last time.That was one strong epidural, that’s
for sure.It took just 8 minutes
of pushing and Madilyn was placed on my chest.I then spent the next hour with her on my chest doing
skin-to-skin, something I hadn’t been able to do with Mila.I felt bad though because Chase wasn’t
able to hold Madilyn during that time and wouldn’t get a chance to hold her
until the next morning since it was so late and we had already decided that
Chase should drive home to be there for Mila in the morning.After the hour of skin-to-skin, Madilyn
was cleaned up right there in my room after which she was weighed and
measured.She weighed in at 7 lbs.
9 oz. (an ounce more than Mila) and was 19 ¾ inches (just over an inch shorter
than Mila).She definitely has
cheeks like Mila but possibly a rounder face.Her nose, mouth, and skin complexion also look very similar
to Mila, but their eyes definitely set these two sisters apart.Madilyn has my squinty eyes.She has a little less hair than Mila
did but it’s a similar shade of brown to Mila’s when she was born.So, possibly we will see it lighten up
and have another blonde girl.

So my fears of a baby just falling out of me have been
diminished now having gone through Madilyn’s labor.However, I am fully aware that once my water breaks and my
contractions get going I progress quickly.Plus, I think epidurals really help my progression by
relaxing my body a bit.Although
this labor in some ways was really long, I’m grateful that the intense moments
went rather quickly.I’m also
grateful for the many prayers and my father’s fast that day because I definitely
felt added strength to make it through the delivery.I’m also glad I had the chance this time to experience
working through contractions so that Chase could be a support by lending me
comfort, reassurance, and a few massages.I definitely felt our relationship become closer because of it.Plus, Chase finally got to experience
seeing what really has to take place to bring life into this world.Madilyn made us work for it, and I’m
glad she did.

My recovery room. Nice view. Very spacious.

One proud sister. She often times will say, "Look this is my baby sister" to whoever will listen.

4 comments:

What sweet pictures of Mila & Madilyn! And what a good birth story! I'm glad it went so smoothly this time around. I love reading birth stories, so thanks for sharing. :) Hope the adjustment to two kids is going well. I wish we lived closer so we could bring you a meal or watch Mila for you!!!